When I was a kid in Alpharetta, Georgia, Mother would drive 5 miles south to Roswell, Georgia to do the grocery shopping. Big Apple was one of the stores we would frequent in the 1960’s.
Sam Alterman of the Alterman Brothers, dominating the Atlanta food empire for decades, opened the first Big Apple supermarket at 794 Marietta Street Atlanta, Georgia in 1939.
It was most likely named after the 1937 dance craze called the “Big Apple” which originated at Big Apple Nightclub, 1000 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29201. The Big Apple chain was popular in Georgia but folded into Food Giant Supermarkets and the Big Apple name would disappear by the 1980’s.
What about Spam? The meat of Hawaiians?